Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus on which a plurality of types of sheets, such as a cut sheet and a roll sheet, can be loaded.
Description of the Related Art
Some printers are capable of printing data on both a roll sheet and a cut sheet, and such a printer has an operation mode for the roll sheet and an operation mode for the cut sheet. Conventionally, the operation mode for the roll sheet and the operation mode for the cut sheet have been switched based on a user's selection of a switching button on an operation panel. Therefore, a problem has arisen when the user has loaded the roll sheet although having selected the operation mode for the cut sheet, or when the user has loaded the cut sheet although having selected the operation mode for the roll sheet.
To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-139998 proposes a method for distinguishing between the roll sheet and the cut sheet and automatically setting an appropriate operation mode. More specifically, a printer includes conveying rollers that convey both the roll sheet and the cut sheet, a roll-sheet conveying unit that rotationally conveys the roll sheet, and a sensor that detects whether there is a sheet on a downstream side of the conveying rollers. Then, the printer rotates the roll sheet in a direction for rewinding the roll sheet with use of the above-described conveying unit, and detects whether the detection of the sensor on the downstream side of the conveying rollers changes to absence of the sheet. After the sheet is detected by a detecting unit, the printer causes the roll-sheet conveying unit to perform the conveyance operation, and, after that, determines that the loaded sheet is the cut sheet if the sheet is detected again by the detecting unit while determining that the loaded sheet is the roll sheet if the sheet is not detected by the detecting unit.
However, the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-139998 not only requires the sensor on the downstream side of the conveying rollers but also requires a driving unit such as a motor for automatically separating the conveying rollers from each other when rewinding the sheet by the roll-sheet conveying unit, a sensor for detecting a position, and the like, thereby resulting in a cost increase. Further, in a case where the printer is a printer that supports various sheet sizes including 10 inches to 60 inches, such as a large-format printer, a weight of the sheet considerably varies depending on a width and a length of the sheet. Therefore, an attempt to rewind the sheet without separating the conveyance rollers from each other leads to such a nip pressure that merely rewinding the roll sheet triggers a rotation, which results in a reduction in a performance of conveying the sheet in a normal case.
Further, if the winding of the roll sheet is loosened or the roll sheet is unwound at an end of the roll sheet, the printer incorrectly determines that the loaded sheet is the cut sheet. Therefore, this method involves a problem of being unable to set the appropriate operation mode.
Further, in a case where the printer includes a plurality of roll sheet feeding units, which sheet feeding unit feeds the roll sheet may be unable to be determined depending on a position of a leading edge of the roll sheet. This case leads to a problem of being unable to drive an appropriate driving unit for a sheet feeding operation.